Hensoldt has announced that it is sending missile sensor systems called MILDS Block 2 for a total of six German Hercules aircraft.
Under the programme, three C-130J-30 and three KC-130J planes will be equipped with Hensoldt’s defence sensor technology.
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The company is delivering a total of 30 sensors, five per aircraft, and additional five units for laboratory use to Danish firm Terma.
Terma is managing the integration of the systems at Lockheed Martin.
Hensoldt has already supplied 20 sensors and desiccant kits, and the remaining units are slated to be delivered by January next year.
As a passive, true imaging sensor system, MILDS Block 2 is designed to identify radiation signatures in the UV solar-blind spectral band that is emitted from an incoming hostile missile exhaust plume.
It features around four to six identical interconnected detectors added into the higher-level EW system.
The sensor succeeds the Missile Launch Detection System AN/AAR-60 with additional features and applications.
The new version nearly eliminates false alarms and can detect incoming missile threats, as well as offers information regarding the direction of approach.
In a statement, Hensoldt said: “A high percentage of aircraft losses in current and recent conflicts have been caused by ground-based defence systems using IR SAM (infrared surface-to-air missile).
“To keep pace with this evolution on the threat side, Hensoldt Sensors has developed the MILDS AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile warning system, a self-protection solution specifically for helicopters and wide-body aircraft that allows for higher performance and enables additional features such as in-sensor data recording and Hostile Fire Indication (HFI).
“Rapid detection and declaration, combined with automatic countermeasure release and crew alerting, supports mission success and safe crew and aircraft return.”
Hensoldt focuses on developing sensor solutions for defence and security applications.
Last month, South Korean defence firm LIG Nex1 contracted Hensoldt for the supply of monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) 2000 ID secondary radars.
